I've been a technology writer for the last seven years for brands like CNET, The Inquirer and Pocket-lint, but I've loved technology my whole life. I've also been lucky enough to work for the BBC where I managed the Top Gear website and worked on countless other shows, including science and technology focused Tomorrow's World. In 2012, I presented a Sky TV show called Gadget Geeks and now I'm a freelance technology journalist.

As an Android user I was very excited by what AppleApple announced at WWDC earlier this month. I even suggested it was a knockout blow to Android. I’ve now had a chance to look at the new version of Google'sGoogle's mobile OS, so it seems like a good time to look at how the search company has responded.

When a new OS gets announced, I can barely wait to get my hands on it. In the past, Google has generally announced its latest update to the mobile operating system at an event – usually the I/O developer conference – and then I’ve had to wait, not only for Google, but also LG, Samsung, SonySony or HTCHTC to update whichever phone I’m using. Not this time though, because I have a Nexus 5, and Google just launched the preview build of Android 5.0.

Because the Nexus 5 is billed as a developer phone, in part, pushing the new OS to it is actually simple. It’s a matter of using the SDK to unlock the phone’s bootloader, which allows you to overwrite the existing OS, and then running a simple batch command on your computer to push the relevant files to the handset. It took me less than 30 minutes in total, and that includes the long time it takes the phone to boot the first time, and the initial setup.

Set-up is quick, and takes less than 30 minutes.

So, what does Android 5.0 or as it’s also known “L” or perhaps “Lollipop” look like. Well, it’s not complete yet. Gmail, for example, hasn’t been updated so the new look promised at I/O doesn’t show yet. However, the core of the OS has been changed, so I got to look at how the next version of Android will look.

I was most interested in the new notifications at first. These have always been the strong part of Android anyway, but I’ve felt for a while that there was more to do to make them even more useful. As it stands, the lock screen has never been that dynamic on Android, at least not without using a third party app or a UI developed by the likes of Samsung or LG. Now though, notifications can show on the home screen, so there’s no need to look deeper than that if you want to know if you missed a call, text or tweet.

Android has improved its already brilliant notifications

Some notifications will be blocked if you have a lock on, so for example when I signed in to Chrome, it wouldn’t show the confirmation notification on the lock screen, I had to unlock the handset and then it told me that it had succeeded. If you don’t have a lock, then there isn’t this restriction. Also, Google will soon allow “trusted” environments to unlock the phone, so it might be if your phone is on your home Wi-Fi, or near your Bluetooth smartwatch, then it will allow you access to everything.

In terms of the general look and feel, there are new standard Android navigation icons. This redesign makes less sense, there’s nothing wrong with the new icons, but they don’t mean a damn thing. How does a circle direct you home? The back arrow makes a little more sense, but the square for currently running apps is meaningless. I was okay with it, because the buttons do what they always did, but new users aren’t going to have the first idea what they’re for. This is a design change for the sake of it, and it’s annoying.

The new keyboard, on the other hand, is actually pretty nice to use. It’s got a radically new look, which seems to get away from the feeling that you need to hit a specific key. Presumably, with predictive text it’s a bit easier for the phone to correct mistakes due to typing errors. My time with it was good though, and it certainly feels nicer to use than the old keyboard.

The new keyboard has moved away from individual “keys” suggesting that the phone will autocorrect more typing errors

The menu system has been tidied up a great deal too. Plus the new looks works well here. There’s less of an obvious “button” feel – after the skeuomorphism uprising of last year – things are a flatter now, with single colours. I faced a bit of a backlash when I said this was “like Apple” but it does have that feel. What Google has done differently though is use drop shadows to emphasize things in the foreground. So when you tap a notification on the lock screen, it comes forward and casts a shadow. It’s a nice graphical look, although I’m not sure if it adds that much. Flat designs can be a little confusing at times though, and I did find this with Android L, especially in the multitasking menu.

The new Android UI is largely flat, but quite pleasant visually

Crucially though, the new tools for monitoring and increasing battery life are very important to Android. Google claims that the Nexus 5 should see as much as 90 minutes more battery life with the update. In my experience, the Nexus 5 has a real problem with battery longevity, so it will be interesting to see if that’s true. But monitoring is key too, and with better battery tools should come better apps, because developers will be able to troubleshoot problems more effectively.

New battery monitoring tools are crucial for better battery life

Overall, at least visually, the new Android style is good. Obviously, there’s a long way to go before it’s ready to launch, and some things have yet to be adapted to the new look, but what has – the core OS – is mostly an improvement. Apart from those cursed navigation buttons. For the most part, Android and iOS are about even. I really like the way Apple has built hubs for various things like games, home automation and health. Google has lagged a little in this. It moved late into a game hub, but it’s very good to use.

Visually, I still think Apple is a bit ahead of Google in design. Despite a few flaws, I think iOS is a nicer looking OS, and I think its developer tools offer a lot of the features users actually want. Google, on the other hand gives me everything I want in a phone. Customisation and access to some exciting new add-on hardware, like smartwatches. I’m certainly looking forward to the full version of Android L launching, and I can’t wait to see the new email UI, but the big problem with Android has always been that the hardware companies step in and strip out a lot of Google’s hard work. I wonder if that’s how it will play out this time?

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>Because the Nexus 5 is billed as a developer phone, in part, pushing the new OS to it is actually simple. It’s a matter of using the SDK to unlock the phone’s bootloader, which allows you to overwrite the existing OS, and then running a simple batch command on your computer to push the relevant files to the handset.

I suspect this is intentional. They probably want to restrict this to developers or people experienced in flashing ROMs. Getting this once it’s finally released will of course be just a single click for an OTA upgrade – something Google has been doing since 1.0 long before Apple started doing it. I don’t know how Apple does pre-release updates. Can I get iOS 8 on my iPhone 5c? Probably needs iTunes on the PC in which case I’ll avoid it. One nice thing about Android is if I’m curious about it, I can back up my entire current image and restore it later with a click. I’m not familiar with iOS updates. Can I do that with iOS8 and then restore my phone as it was (including apps and data) with a single click?

Yup, it is, it also wipes your device, so it’s very much aimed at people who are happy to play around, rather than normal users. That’s a security feature though, so someone can’t unlock your phone’s bootloader and mess with your stuff.

The navigation icons are indeed idiotic. The keyboard looks better, but it’s significantly less functional. The secondary characters are missing. @#& etc. Also just because the borders around the keys are missing doesn’t mean that it’s going to be more accurate. I’d expect a tech writer to recognize this. iOS doesn’t look anywhere near as good as Android to me as the current Holo look. This looks better. I’ll see how it actually feels when I install the OS. I have the Nexus 5 and 7 and am holding out. From reports, it still seems a little rough around the edges. Especially in terms of the fluid Android experience I have got used to over the last few releases.